CHICAGO -- As a state moratorium on utility shutoffs comes to an end, more than 800,000 customers in Illinois are behind on their utility bills and potentially subject to having their service cut off.
Consumer advocates urged residents to contact their utility companies as soon as possible, to find out what payment options and assistance are available, through the utilities themselves or the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
Jim Chilsen, director of communications for the Citizens Utility Board, said the moratorium ending doesn't mean everyone immediately gets shut off; rather, the utility companies are sending out disconnection notices, starting with customers who are most in arrears.
"The last thing anyone needs in the middle of a pandemic is to lose your electricity or heat," Chilsen acknowledged. "And we also have a message for utility companies: This is a time to be good corporate citizens, and to do everything they can to keep their customers connected."
Customers in Black and Hispanic ZIP codes are four times more likely to be disconnected for non-payment, according to a report from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Chilsen noted people earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level will be protected from disconnection until June 30. For a family of four, that's a bit less than $80,000 a year.
Several major Illinois utilities are also increasing residential natural-gas prices this month, ranging from 35% to nearly 70%.
Chilsen explained it's because of unprecedented cold in February and limited supply, after wellheads and gas pipes froze across the southern United States.
"The cheapest therm of natural gas is the therm of natural gas that you don't waste," Chilsen emphasized. "So we're telling people, absolutely practice energy efficiency at home to control your costs during this month."
He added utility companies don't make increased profit off of the price hike; it's the producers and marketers who supply gas to the utilities.
And he pointed out the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is
investigating possible market manipulation after the Texas power grid failure.
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Supporters of a federal pilot program to distribute diapers to low-income families in Massachusetts hope to build upon its success.
More than 1 million diapers, along with wipes and other needed supplies have helped some 1,600 families over the past several months.
Adriana Leo, director of planning and grants management for Community Action Inc. in Haverhill, said the program gives parents with limited budgets a chance to get ahead.
"If a family knows that they have the diaper supply to send their child to care, they also know that they can then go to work, to their school programs," Leo explained. "They're going to be covered and their child's going to be comfortable."
Leo noted enrolled families have received 100 diapers each month, giving them the financial flexibility to cover other basic needs. More than one-third of Massachusetts families said they cannot afford enough diapers for their children.
The Massachusetts Association for Community Action, a coalition of more than 20 community action agencies in the state, was awarded more than 1 million dollars in federal aid to distribute diapers via four hubs across the state and Western Connecticut.
Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, is sponsoring legislation to create a state fund to keep up the effort, and has held diaper drives at the statehouse to build support.
"The biggest awareness building activity you can do is to hold a diaper drive and have people who haven't experienced the high cost of diapers recently go to the store and see how much they are," Domb asserted.
Domb pointed out diaper distribution is just one strategy to help families make ends meet, in addition to direct cash payments. She noted WIC and SNAP funds cannot be used for diaper purchases. The bill has already advanced to the House Ways and Means Committee.
Mary Marte, housing program director for North Shore Community Action Programs, said it is encouraging news, as parents have reported the challenge of paying rent and going without diapers at the end of the month.
"The clients and the families that we work with, they cannot afford to pay $3,000 rent in the north shore," Marte emphasized. "I think that people really appreciate the help."
Marte added she thinks of a young mother and her one-year-old daughter who have benefited from the diaper distribution program, who told Marte the diapers have brought her a sense of security as she attends college and the confidence to keep going.
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Student-loan borrowers in Mississippi and nationwide could have their debt reduced or eliminated through a new one-time adjustment by the U.S. Department of Education.
This summer, the Department will gives you credit towards loan cancellation through this adjustment if your loan is federally managed.
Cora Hume is an attorney with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and said this adjustment is designed to count more of the payments made - so they can be added to the payments required for cancellation.
The adjustment counts your loan payments made after July 1, 1994 - and in some situations your deferments, economic hardship allowances, and forbearances.
"Historically, borrowers of all ages have struggled to access this Income Driven Repayment benefit," said Hume. "It's really important that they do because it can lower their monthly payments based on their income and family size. This April 30 deadline applies to some loans."
In Mississippi, 145,000 borrowers aged 25 to 34 owe an average of more than $31,000.
Hume said those with nonfederal loans need to consolidate them into a direct consolidation loan with the U.S. Department of Education by the end of April to potentially benefit from this adjustment.
Hume emphasized that student loan debt does not discriminate, and their data shows that 2.7 million older borrowers owed an average of $41,000 in federal student loans in 2023.
She said between 2004 and 2022 there was a nine-fold increase in the number of older borrowers with student loan debt.
"Thirty-two percent of these older borrowers are struggling to pay their bills," said Hume. "In terms of this adjustment, we know that 62-plus borrowers are more likely to need consolidation to maximize the benefit of this one-time pay count adjustments. "
Hume pointed out that more than one million senior citizens are not in the direct-loan program and hold an average of more than $29,000 in debt from their college days.
She encouraged borrowers to visit StudentAid.gov/loan-consolidation to find out if they are eligible for the significant adjustment.
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A Wyoming nonprofit is helping single mothers climb out of poverty by connecting them with the training and support they need to step into and succeed at good-paying jobs.
Katie Hogarty, CEO of Climb Wyoming, explained her team taps a wide range of community partners, including school counselors, soup kitchens and clinics, to identify women in need. Climb then works with moms to find child care they can trust, and the entire free training program can be completed in as little as 12 weeks.
"We have a 98% graduation rate, and 86% of our graduates have doubled or even tripled their wages two years post-program," Hogarty reported. "We have really phenomenal outcomes for such a short training program."
One in four Wyoming kids live in single-parent families, according to Wyoming Community Foundation data, and those kids are more likely to live in poverty compared to their peers in married-parent families. Since 1986, Climb Wyoming has served more than 12,000 moms and 25,000 children.
Hogarty argued access to jobs is key to positive outcomes, so each of their six sites across the state build relationships with local employers to make sure women are getting the most relevant training. Climb pays for each new employee's first six weeks' wages, and provides ongoing support to help participants settle into new routines.
"We have a commitment to providing training for higher paying jobs so that women really can move their families out of poverty," Hogarty noted. "In some of our communities, we really focus on medical careers. In some of our communities, we focus on construction trades. It really just depends on each community."
The group's specialty is helping people whose brains have been stressed by the trauma of nonstop fight, flight or freeze mode that comes with extreme poverty recover and strengthen their executive functions critical for successful employment. Hogarty added when you move a mom out of poverty, the effects on the second generation are substantial.
"The children of our graduates are having more success in school, they're healthier, they're more stable," Hogarty emphasized. "That's why we all do this work, because we believe in a strong Wyoming and strong families."
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